RBI to make banking more easier for Customers

Now, You will never feel as being penalized by your banking for any kind of account you hold within your bank for both home branches and non-home branches. As per some new suggestions proposed via a report submitted by the new RBI committee headed by former SEBI chairman Mr M. Damodaran, many new reforms are going to be made to make banking more easier for the customers.

According to the proposed changes the customers can get

1. Plain Vanilla type saving bank account in which there is no need to fulfil the minimum balance requirement that was earlier imposed by maximum of banks. The customers can enjoy the saving bank account service in zero balance too. You will also be entitled for all basic facility like Cheque and ATM facility in this zero balance account.

2. If you applied for housing loans earlier at the rate of interest provided that time and unfortunately if the interest rates have gone down as compared to the past then also you can stop worrying since the committee has suggested to keep a floating interest rate for housing loans without discriminating between old and new customers

3. If the report is approved you will also be entitled to switch option for home loans atleast once during the loan tenure

4. Damodaran Committee has also suggested to keep a centralized common toll-free number for bank’s customer support which the bank can forward to their respective department as per the customers requirement from the centralized location.

5. Now bank will have to give compensation for delayed return or loss of the titled deeds that had been kept in the bank’s custody

6. The customers will hold Zero liability on loss in ATM and online transactions

7. Earlier banks used to provide Rs 1 Lakh of deposit insurance cover for each saving account, now it will be increased to Rs 5 Lakhs.

8. Now your every kind of grievances will be noted and replied since RBI has proposed that a Chief Service Officer shall be there in every bank for grievances.

9. Previously you were charged for some basic informative services like passbook update at non-home branches, but now this facility is proposed to be provided free of cost.

Overall these changes will entitle the customers to use their bank account effectively and moreover no such major changes have been proposed which will affect banks in adverse way. So these proposals are worth to be welcomed. By the way RBI is seeking feedback upon these changes from the general public by Aug 27, 2011. The feedback form has been posted on the website of Central Bank.